Omar visits fire-ravaged Kishtwar area; assures victims of more relief

During his first visit to the Jammu region after taking oath as the Chief Minister of the union territory of J&K, Omar Abdullah on Thursday met the families whose homes were razed to rubble due to a fire incident in Kishtwar district.

A major fire had damaged at least 80 structures in Warwan area of the district on October 14 after which the locals had also blamed absence of any fire station in the area for the incident. The fire tenders were sent from Anantnag district in Kashmir as the place where the incident took place is far-flung and not easily accessible.

"I have come here to make the victims realise that they are not alone during this time of grief. It is our duty to resettle the victims (who have lost their homes) and it is our responsibility to provide relief to them. The administration has given some relief to the victims but I have increased it," said Abdullah. Deputy CM Surinder Choudhary and local MLA Pyare Lal Sharma also accompanied the CM, who met the families and asked them about the need for any basic amenities.

Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Kumar Shavan and SSP Abdul Qayoom were present at the spot. When asked if the victims will be provided relief under the PM Awas Yojna, the CM said that administration will also get the victims some relief through the scheme so that the structures that have been completely damaged are rebuilt.

Talking to locals, Omar said, "Such fire incidents in this region are frequent. It is unfortunate that the region has lagged behind in development. Here mobile can be used only for its camera as there is no mobile signal."

He said after the fire incident was reported, it took over 6 hours for fire tenders to reach the village. "It was not the fire services which stopped the blaze, but people demolished their homes to stop the fire from spreading," said the CM.

Omar also announced two fire stations in the region so that in case of an incident in future, there is no delay.